I am quite confident that I belong here. 3.2 GPA (less than 25th percentile) 170 (right at median) accepted at Northwestern. Besides my romantic escapades with several members of the admissions committee, I think what got me in was a good interview, ED, and two years of non-mail-order-bride related living in Ukraine

I do think the Master's degree was really important in both cases, because it made my expressed interest in PI work seem a lot more legitimate.

I still have no idea why NW decided to accept me, to be honest! I didn't even interview because I was in Africa at the time of my application (and wrote them a note to that effect).

On the other hand, I did interview for GULC and I think it helped me a LOT. Persistence also paid off: I wrote two or three letters to the admissions office updating them with news (some of it a bit of a stretch) and hand delivered them (which I'm sure looked really impressive, but I was actually working across the street at the time). A bit of lobbying by a boss who had worked with the Dean may also have helped, but I have no idea....

Edit: And yeah the Vandy guy is being ridiculous.

I hope you applied to other T14's because with your LSAT at the 25th percentile at both these schools and your GPA well above the 75th, along with Peace Corps, one of the few softs that gives you a boost, you certainly weren't a reach. Congratulations though!

thatguyyouknow wrote:3.3 170URM: NoUVAOptional: NoI think my softs got me in and also I was an early decision candidate. Really good work experience and recs. Went complete 1/20 (10am) accepted 1/20 (5pm)

scribelaw wrote:LOL. How can someone with an above-median GPA and a > 75th LSAT count as a reach? There's another word for that: autoadmit.

This thread has officially jumped the shark (although it probably did a while ago).

Whatever, don't like it? You can suck my balls.

Dude that's retarded as hell.

+1. The thread isn't a bad idea, but no one who is posting here is an actual reach. I'm waiting to see people who are non-URM, below both medians, getting in somewhere. The fact that even a thread like this doesn't generate such stories just proves how much numbers matter and how extremely rare it is for people to get into schools above their numbers.

scribelaw wrote:LOL. How can someone with an above-median GPA and a > 75th LSAT count as a reach? There's another word for that: autoadmit.

This thread has officially jumped the shark (although it probably did a while ago).

Whatever, don't like it? You can suck my balls.

Dude that's retarded as hell.

+1. The thread isn't a bad idea, but no one who is posting here is an actual reach. I'm waiting to see people who are non-URM, below both medians, getting in somewhere. The fact that even a thread like this doesn't generate such stories just proves how much numbers matter and how extremely rare it is for people to get into schools above their numbers.

I think he meant when you said you were looking for non-URMs below both medians, which, if read in the way I read it at first, would give the impression that part of the definition of "reaching" entails not being a URM.

beamsmehome wrote:Finally, as for how "extremely rare" it is, I assume that the number of admits in this position increases later in the application cycle. It seems reasonable that there aren't a ton of these stories available in January.

Also schools hold off on marginal candidates via the waitlist anyway. If you are getting into a reach, its probably via waitlist, or in march.

I think he meant when you said you were looking for non-URMs below both medians, which, if read in the way I read it at first, would give the impression that part of the definition of "reaching" entails not being a URM.

Gotcha. I did not mean that, sorry if I was unclear.

I merely meant that, to use an example, if you're a 3.5/166 and get into Cornell -- if you're a URM, that's not really a reach. If you're a non-URM, it is.

But URMs obviously can have reaches, too. You just have to account for the admissions bump.

In at Stanford with a low 160 LSAT and GPA at median for SLS. White/AI, Truman Scholar, Rhodes finalist, from a rural state. While I believe I have strong soft factors, I think with my LSAT score everything else had to also be going for me. Two of my referees spent a couple hours each on their Stanford-specific letters (neither has Stanford connections) and I spent probably 50-60 hours on my PS and DS. I was also fortunate to receive support and advice from current and former SLS students, some of whom I have never met in person. FWIW, I believe it helped immensely to have a narrative run throughout the different elements of my application (essays, recs, resume, etc).

congrats, that's totally awesome . it's nice to know that it DOES happen. you must have a lot of neat things going for you

In at Stanford with a low 160 LSAT and GPA at median for SLS. White/AI, Truman Scholar, Rhodes finalist, from a rural state. While I believe I have strong soft factors, I think with my LSAT score everything else had to also be going for me. Two of my referees spent a couple hours each on their Stanford-specific letters (neither has Stanford connections) and I spent probably 50-60 hours on my PS and DS. I was also fortunate to receive support and advice from current and former SLS students, some of whom I have never met in person. FWIW, I believe it helped immensely to have a narrative run throughout the different elements of my application (essays, recs, resume, etc).

I doted on this for awhile. I've decided that I did indeed make it into a reach, judging by my dot being an oasis in a sea of yellow and red on LSN

GPA: 3.52, LSAT: 165URM: noSchool: Fordham (admitted waaaay early - 11/6, 4 weeks after applying on the nose)Optional essays: yes, I wrote a DS about my professional experience, EEs being underrepresented in the profession and the classroom and having particular things to contribute, and non-urm but still a rather rare ethnic background.Softs: EE degree. Extremely relevant work experience at a federal agency. Relevant internships. Teaching experience.

I applied PT, and both my numbers are above last year's PT numbers. They both fall well short of last year's FT numbers, and combined FT/PT numbers as well. So I consider Fordham to be a reach given the new USNWR method in dealing with PT programs, and my having two below-median numbers.